                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2023 October 30
      A dark starfield is shown with several brown nebulas. Many of the
    nebulas appear to have unusual shapes, with one possibly resembling a
    bat, while other may resemble people. Please see the explanation for
                         more detailed information.

                       Reflections of the Ghost Nebula
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Bogdan Jarzyna

   Explanation: Do any shapes seem to jump out at you from this
   interstellar field of stars and dust? The jeweled expanse, filled with
   faint, starlight-reflecting clouds, drifts through the night in the
   royal constellation of Cepheus. Far from your own neighborhood on
   planet Earth, these ghostly apparitions lurk along the plane of the
   Milky Way at the edge of the Cepheus Flare molecular cloud complex some
   1,200 light-years away. Over two light-years across and brighter than
   the other spooky chimeras, VdB 141 or Sh2-136 is also known as the
   Ghost Nebula, seen toward the bottom of the featured image. Within the
   reflection nebula are the telltale signs of dense cores collapsing in
   the early stages of star formation.

                  Tour the Universe: Random APOD Generator
                    Tomorrow's picture: all hallow's eve
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

